At some unknown time before the passing of the Municipal
Corporations Act in 1835, Plymouth Corporation were already in
receipt of the interest on a sum of £20 given by somebody called
Reed. The interest amounted to 16 shillings per annum. Nothing
is known now about the origin of the Gift but there may be a
clue to its date of origin in that it was not mentioned by the
Charity Commissioners in their 1820 Report in the Charities in
Plymouth.

By an Order of the
Charity Commissioners dated July 13th 1894, the Reed Gift along
with several others were amalgamated into a Scheme whereby the
real estate was vested in the Official Trustee of Charitable
Lands and a body of eleven trustees, four of them elected by the
Town Council, were made responsible for the management of the
charities.

The Charity Commissioners made a further
Order on October 20th 1905 by which the Reed Gift was given the
name of the Reed Educational Foundation. The Foundation was
thereafter used to support the
Hospital of the Orphans' Aid.